Bob Odenirk has returned to work on Better Call Saul six weeks after he suffered “a small heart attack” on set. The Emmy-winning actor on Wednesday morning shared a behind-the-scenes photo of himself on the set of the hit Breaking Bad prequel showing him in the makeup chair as he prepared to film.
In sharing the image, Odenkirk, who stars as con-man lawyer Saul Goodman in the AMC series, confirmed he is “back to work on Better Call Saul!” Odenkirk said he is “so happy to be here and living this specific life surrounded by such good people.” He humorously added, “BTW this is makeup pro Cheri Montesanto making me not ugly for shooting!”
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Odenkirk’s return to filming came a little more than a month after he collapsed as the cast was filming Better Call Saul’s sixth and final season on the show’s New Mexico set. Sources said at the time the actor “went down, and was immediately surrounded by crew members who called an ambulance.” Odenkirk was rushed to a New Mexico hospital, with his representative in a statement saying, “Bob and his family would like to express gratitude for the incredible doctors and nurses looking after him, as well as his cast, crew, and producers who have stayed by his side.”
In a statement a day later, AMC said the actor was in stable condition after experiencing “a heart related incident,” with Odenkirk revealing in a July 30th statement that he “had a small heart attack.” The actor said he was “going to be ok thanks to Rosa Estrada and the doctors who knew how to fix the blockage without surgery. Also, AMC and [Sony’s] support and help throughout this has been next-level. I’m going to take a beat to recover but I’ll be back soon.” In an early August health update, Odenkirk said he was “doing great” and had “my very own It’s A Wonderful Life week of people insisting I make the world slightly better. Wow! Thank you, I love everyone right now but let’s keep expectations reasonable!”
Odenkirk stars as lawyer Saul Goodman on Better Call Saul, a role he reprised from Breaking Bad. The series debuted in 2015 as a spinoff of Breaking Bad and follows Odenkirk’s character’s transformation from a likable con artist named Jimmy McGill to a lawyer who calls himself Saul Goodman. Odenkirk has earned four Emmy nominations for lead actor in a drama series. Better Call Saul Season 6, the show’s final season, was initially set to premiere on AMC early next year, though executive producer Thomas Schnauz recently told Den of Geek, “because of the COVID delays, and then Bob’s heart attack and recovery, I have zero idea when or how the episodes will be aired.”